Waking Sleeping Beauty
by Tay-21
Summary: While on an anomaly site an innocent act goes terribly wrong and Abby is injured.  Connor is faced with some tough decisions on to how get her help.  There will be repercussions because nothing is free.  Slightly different from my LJ version.  Please R
1. Sleeping Beauty

**A/N: I will slowly be uploading a slightly different version of this story from the one found on my Live Journal Page. I plan on adding a few deleted scenes and maybe extending some others. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU ENJOY MY STORY, or if you don't. I really appreciate feedback. **

**Disclaimer: Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 1: Sleeping Beauty**

"What do you mean, 'It's psychological'?" Connor growled at the doctor.

Danny put a restraining hand on his shoulder, but Connor shook it off.

"I mean that there is nothing medically wrong with her, nothing at all. We've run every test, scanned everything. Her brain is functioning in a completely normal way," the doctor explained.

"Then why won't she wake up?" He was still angry. He was confused, scared and angry.

"As I said, I think it's psychological. It's as if she really is just sleeping. It must be a form of catatonia. Her responses are like those of a heavily sleeping child. If you try to rouse them, they'll sit up and move, but they won't open their eyes, there is no verbal response. No substantial reaction of any kind. I'm going to recommend that she's moved to a psychiatric facility."

Connor looked up sharply at the doctor, a look of horror on his face. Then, his expression became calculating. "There's nothing medically wrong with her?"

"No, nothing medical." The doctor looked at him strangely.

"Then I want to take her home."

"That would not be advisable. You're not set up to take care of her at home."

"Then I'll get it set up. Whatever it takes, but I'm not shutting her in some 'facility' with people who don't really care."

"Connor, I think you should listen to the good doctor on this one," Danny cautioned.

"No, damn it! I'm taking her home." Connor looked back to the doctor. "Just tell me what I need."

* * *

The doctor agreed to keep Abby in the hospital while Connor arranged for her home care. Connor had argued with Danny over this, but eventually Danny had given in and agreed to help in any way possible. Connor had sent him off to talk to Lester for him.

It took Connor a week to make all the arrangements and, he assumed, a lot of string-pulling on Lester's part. The nurses were kind enough to spend time coaching Connor in how to take care of Abby and each day that she remained in hospital he learned something new and useful.

Lester had allowed him to take a leave of absence provided he worked from home as much as possible. Connor had also promised to come in at least once a week to service the ADD. That conversation had gone a long way to securing Lester's eventual agreement to keep paying Connor his full salary. God knows he was going to need the money.

The hospital staff insisted on Abby being in a wheelchair as they made their way out of the hospital to her waiting mini that Connor was now driving. Once they were through the outer doors though, he picked her up and carried her the remaining distance to the car. She looked so fragile as he laid her down in the partially reclined passenger seat.

"Once again, I must advise against this course of action. You do not know how to deal with this situation, Mr. Temple," the doctor cautioned, as Connor buckled Abby into her seat.

"Stop," Connor said rather forcefully as he held his hand up. "This is my best friend, the only one I've got. She's locked herself away in her own mind. She's not talking to anyone. So, she won't be talking to anyone in a mental institution either. I can make her much more comfortable at our flat than in some sterile environment. I've done everything you told me to do, so unless you have anymore constructive advice, there's nothing more to be said."

"If she wakes up, call a doctor immediately. Hell, call me. I'm just trying to help."

Connor dropped his hostile stare. "Thank you, doctor; I'm just a bit stressed. I know you're trying to help. I'll call someone if anything changes, I promise." Connor walked around the car, got in the driver's seat, started the engine and, without a backward glance, drove away from the hospital.

He looked over at Abby's unmoving form. "Don't worry, Abby, we're going home and everything is going to be just fine. Rex, Sid and Nancy can't wait to see you. I've kept an eye on them for the last couple of weeks. Even followed your rules with Rex. He might be a bit cross with me because I haven't sneaked him any treats. Not one. Not since, not since… not since that last anomaly…" his voice faltered. "Anyway, I've got everything set up for your return. I can't wait for you to wake up, Abby. Abby, could you just try to open your eyes for me, mate?" He reached over and touched her cheek.

"You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen." A tear slipped down his cheek. He turned his attention back to the road. _God, if only she could tell me what had happened on the other side of that anomaly_. All he knew was what he had seen when he'd found her.

He shuddered at the memory.


	2. The Anomaly

**A/N: I will slowly be uploading a slightly different version of this story from the one found on my Live Journal Page. I plan on adding a few deleted scenes and maybe extending some others. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU ENJOY MY STORY, or if you don't. I really appreciate feedback.**

**Disclaimer: Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 2 – The Anomaly**

TWO WEEKS EARLIER:

"Connor, wake up." Abby threw a pillow at him.

"Mmph." He rolled over and held said pillow over his head.

"I mean it, Connor, if I have to traipse across this minefield of a room of yours and make you get up, you're going to pay."

"It's four in the bloody morning, Abby."

"There's an anomaly, Connor, it's our job."

"It's Sunday."

"Does that matter? Get up, I'll make coffee."

This was the part of his job that he hated the most. The freaking early morning calls to what would, in all likelihood, be nothing. He rolled out of bed, no time to shower. He picked up what appeared to be random bits of clothes off the floor and threw them on to produce an ensemble that was unique to his own style. Since he was having to go sans shower, he grabbed the Trilby off his bedpost and planted it on top of his head.

He was so glad to be back in his own space. Living with Lester had been a nightmare, completely stressful and exhausting. He shut the door to his room as he pulled on his fingerless gloves.

Abby had toast and coffee waiting for him. He really wanted tea, but he knew that coffee was a necessity at this point.

"Come on, we're already running late. You can eat in the car. I'm driving."

"Abby," he whined. "Can't you just give me a minute?"

She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Nope. Let's go"

"Oh, that's just not right." He got up and followed her out the door, his coffee in one hand, bag in another, and his toast now held between his teeth sticking out of his mouth.

Connor wolfed down the toast and then sipped the coffee. The ride to the ARC wasn't all that long.

"Abby, want to go to the movies with me on Friday?"

They had been trying to make an effort at a normal dating relationship since their return from the Cretaceous. This meant that Connor had to ask her out properly even though they lived in the same flat together.

"Sure, Conn, what d'ya have in mind?" He loved it when she called him Conn.

"Uh, that new vampire/werewolf movie is coming out. Didn't you say you wanted to see it?"

"Didn't you say that it looked contrived, the plot a nightmare, and completely ridiculous because everyone knows that vampires can't go out in the sun, let alone sparkle unless it's because they're bursting into flames?" She fixed him with a curious smile.

"Yes, but didn't you say it's romantic?"

"Yes, but…"

"You want to see it, and I want to be with you. Thursday's our six-month anniversary and I thought you were overdue for it to be your turn to pick a movie. So, yes or no to the tweeny, teen angsty, vampire flick?"

"Yes, I'd love too." She smiled as they pulled into the garage at the ARC.

"Can I drive?"

"We'll see."

Connor humphed at her evasive response; he liked to drive when they went on dates. He normally had no problem with Abby driving. It was her car after all. But he liked to drive when **he** was supposed to be taking **her** out.

They headed straight to the locker rooms.

Ever since half the field team had accidentally been stranded in the past for an extended period of time they had undergone some major policy changes. Lester was determined that if something like that ever happened again, his team would not be so ill equipped. They had grumbled about it at first, but in the end, it had been a very positive shift. All personnel in the field had to wear survival gear. They had black jumpsuits that were completely kitted out with useful items. Each suit carried a knife, torch, matches, compass, locator beacon, fishing twine and hooks, a long length of jute twine, sunglasses, a Gerber Multitool, Mylar space blanket, and sunscreen in addition to a basic first aid kit and what ever personal items they used to tailor it to themselves. Each of the field team had also been issued a CamelBak Personal Hydration System. They had undergone several worst-case scenario type training exercises with the Special Forces operatives and were a much tighter group as a result.

"Did I mention how unbelievably hot you look in all that survival kit?" Abby whispered playfully into Connor's ear as they walked toward the atrium to the briefing.

"Several times, actually," Connor replied smugly. "Maybe one of these days I'll wear it home." He grinned down at her.

They pushed open the door to the big main room and came to a stop right in front of the ADD.

"Oh good, the kids have decided to grace us with their presence," Lester commented dryly. Connor and Abby glanced at each other sheepishly.

"As I was saying," Becker continued, "the anomaly is here, in Hyde Park, just off Lover's Walk. We have a preliminary response team there now to evaluate and we have indications that a creature may have come through. That's why we called everyone in. As soon as they get everything set up, they'll lock the anomaly." He checked his watch. "Which should be any minute now. We'll need you lot, especially you, Abby, to evaluate and possibly deal with any creature incursions and get them back through the anomaly. Any questions?" He looked around. There were none. "OK. Let's move out."

Upon arrival at the anomaly site, Connor checked the status of the anomaly locking device. There was indeed clear evidence that something had come through, but they couldn't tell what it was from the tracks.

Abby headed out with some of the soldiers and Connor said he'd catch up in a minute. He was checking a print out of the readings they had taken before locking the anomaly.

As he read, it became clear that something was off. The levels didn't match any previous era. They were closer to the levels found in their own time period, or more closely…

Connor swore as the penny dropped. This was a future anomaly. He grabbed the radio. "Uh… guys, I'm about ninety percent certain this anomaly is from the future. So… uh… be careful. Abby, you copy?" There was no reply.

"Abby. Copy? Abby?" Off in the direction that Abby had gone with the soldiers Connor heard an odd bellowing. _Oh crap_, he thought as he ran toward the noise. He could run fast when he needed to and it didn't take him long to reach his destination.

The sight that greeted him was not at all what he was expecting. If he didn't think he knew better, he would have sworn he was staring at a giant armadillo. In fact, that's exactly what it looked like. A three metre tall, six metre long, check that, nine metre long if he included the tail, giant armadillo.

He was about to shout, when out of nowhere a small hand clamped over his mouth.

He panicked for a moment until he recognized Abby's whispered, "Shh, Connor, hush." It was an order. He looked down at her incredulously. Her hand was still over his mouth. "Sorry we frightened you, Conn, we had to turn the radios off. The sound was making him jumpy." She took her hand away from his mouth.

"Making **him** jumpy?" Connor was still irritated.

"Sorry," she said once more. "You came to rescue me again, didn't you?"

"It's from the future, it could be dangerous. That's what I was trying to tell you over the radio."

Abby smiled up at him. "Watch this." She walked up to the creature and with a gloved hand she began to pet it on the bridge of its nose. The creature, while a little skittish with sudden noises and movements, was completely docile under Abby's gentle touch.

"Well, well," Connor murmured, "What d'ya know?" He walked over slowly and reached out a hand. Abby pulled his arm back and he looked at her with obvious disappointment.

She held out a pair of nearly arm length latex gloves. "If this is in anyway related to the armadillos of our time, then it might still carry leprosy. Don't touch it. I happen to like having you with all your bits intact."

Connor nodded somberly, just a hint of a smirk on his face, and pulled on the gloves. As he petted and patted the creature Abby told him what had made them turn off the radios.

"When Tom's radio went off really loudly the animal curled up like a giant pill bug and rolled fifteen metres away. It had only just come uncurled when you started your transmission. We only got as far as your, 'Uh... guys' before we had to turn them off or risk him rolling away again and getting further away from the anomaly."

"How are we going to get him back?"

"We haven't succeeded in getting him to move yet. Becker wants to tranq him, but I'd rather not have to."

"You said he's a male?"

"Yeah."

"Have you tried getting him to follow a food source? You know what they say about men and their stomachs." He grinned at her.

"Armadillos are rumored to be blind, but they have an excellent sense of smell," Abby replied speculatively.

"So, what do they eat?"

"Um… you said it came from the future?"

"That's what the data appears to support."

"Armadillos usually eat insects. I don't think we're going to find any big enough for this guy here, and any from the other side would be so big as to be a danger to us."

"Right, I don't want to deal with anything like that Megopteran again."

"I thought not. Let's see if we can tempt him with some fruit or something. I'll make a Tesco's run with Becker and see what our options are."

After several attempts with various fruits, they finally realized that he liked papaya, which fortunately had been available in the exotic fruit section. Abby walked in front of it with a basket full of papaya and would occasionally reach back to feed him one. It grunted happily as it meandered about behind her.

However, getting it to actually go through the anomaly proved to be a bit more challenging. It turned out not to be blind, it just didn't see very well. Abby tried throwing the fruit through the anomaly, but it wouldn't follow. It kept coming back to her. Connor waited by the locking mechanism.

"Come on Abby." He was tired and growing impatient.

"Hang on, let me try something." She moved towards the anomaly and before Connor's sleep-deprived mind could register what she was doing, she stepped through the anomaly with the bushel of papaya.

"Oh my God. Becker, Danny!" Connor called. The giant armadillo trundled through looking for Abby and the papayas. Connor was going to have it out with her when they got home. She knew she wasn't supposed to do stupid stuff like this. Connor followed right behind the armadillo with Becker, followed by Danny.

"Stupid impulsive girl," Connor heard Becker swear next to him.

"Don't I know it," he replied.

Becker shouted some instructions to his men and then the three of them moved through the anomaly.

Abby was nowhere in sight, the armadillo had curled up in a ball and was swiftly rolling away from the figures that were there waiting for them. They all looked exactly the same.

_Oh no_, Connor thought,_ the Cleaners. Where's Abby…_


	3. On the Other Side

**A/N: I will slowly be uploading a slightly different version of this story from the one found on my Live Journal Page. I plan on adding a few deleted scenes and maybe extending some others. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU ENJOY MY STORY, or if you don't. I really appreciate feedback.**

**Disclaimer: Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 3 – On ****the Other Side**

The multiple versions of the Cleaner all started to attack almost as soon as they saw the three men. There were too many of them. Becker grabbed Connor and threw him back through the anomaly before the young man could protest. Danny followed without hesitation. Once through, he pinned the struggling, hysterical Connor against a tree.

"No! Let me go. I have to go back, they've got Abby. Danny get the hell off me!"

"No, mate, just give Becker time to organise reinforcements."

Connor continued to struggle. He was absolutely beside himself with worry for his beloved.

"If you don't stop struggling, I'll handcuff you to this tree and I won't let you help. Stop, for just a moment. We're not leaving her; we just need to get backup."

Connor would not stop. He was completely inconsolable. In the end, Danny had no choice. Becker came over and, while apologising profusely, wrestled Connor's arms behind the tree and cuffed him, pinning him firmly in place.

"Connor, please stop," Becker pleaded. "You're going to hurt yourself. Reinforcements will be here in five minutes. We'll go back in as soon as they get here."

"What if they take her somewhere else? What if we can't find her because we've waited too long? Please, let me go! I'll go by myself." He continued to thrash about.

"Connor, you getting yourself killed or captured is not going to help right now. If they take Abby to some other place, or time, we're going to need you to help get her back," Danny reasoned.

Tears began to roll down his cheeks at this point and he sank to his knees in defeat. Danny sat down next to him.

"We'll find her, Conn, we will, mate."

Danny put his arm around him. Connor pulled in deep calming breaths and nodded his head. If he wanted to help get Abby back, he had to get control of himself. Despite all this the tears kept silently coursing down his cheeks.

Reinforcements arrived a few minutes later.

"Please," Connor looked imploringly up at Danny. "Don't leave me here, let me help. I promise I won't do anything stupid. I promise." Danny nodded and called Becker over. He didn't have the heart to deny him the chance to help. It's what he would have wanted if he'd had the opportunity to help his brother.

Becker knelt down behind the tree and removed the cuffs from around Connor's wrists. "Sorry. I'm really sorry," he stated as he took in the sight of Connor's arms.

Connor nodded and rubbed at his now raw, bloody wrists. The inside of his arms were scraped up as well from the tree bark. Connor silently cursed himself for being so belligerent. He knew Danny and Becker were right, he just wasn't able to abide standing around and doing nothing. However, he wasn't ready to be completely calm yet. He still had to find Abby.

Tom Reardon, the head Special Forces medic, dropped down next to them to clean and bandage Connor's arms.

Connor jerked away. "No, we have to find Abby first. There'll be time to patch me up later."

The medic looked to Becker for instruction.

Becker nodded, "It's all right Reardon, he'll live. Stick with him when we go through though. Try to keep him out of trouble, yeah?"

Reardon smiled widely at Becker. "Yes, sir." He loved going through the anomalies. It was such a rush. He got up and pulled a now very sore Connor to his feet. "Stay behind me," he said somberly. "I mean it. No heroics, or I'll drag you back through even if that means I have to tranq you myself." Reardon smiled on the last bit, but Connor knew he was somewhat serious and nodded his agreement.

"Come on," Becker said. "Let's go find your girlfriend." He patted Connor on the shoulder. "I'm sure she's fine. She knows how to take care of herself."

"Yeah," Connor replied. _But there were just so many of them_, he thought. He followed Becker over to where his troops were gathered. Danny came and stood next to him.

"Sorry," Connor told him. His voice was shaky and another tear slipped down his cheek. "It's just, I can't lose her, not now."

"I know, mate, we'll find her."

Connor took a deep breath and wiped his face with both hands. A few minutes later Becker, Danny, Reardon, Connor and the rest of the assembled Special Forces, were heading through the anomaly. Connor was at the back of the line with several bodyguards and Tom Reardon.

It was clear that the Cleaners were intent on a head on battle. As Connor stepped through the anomaly he was assaulted by the earsplitting sound of gunfire echoing off the post-apocalyptic buildings all around them. Connor's bodyguards shoved him to the ground as they took up defensive positions in an effort to gain the upper hand in the urban battle.

It didn't last very long. The Cleaners were now heavily out-manned and out-gunned. Soon most, if not all, were nothing more than twisted, twitching shapes on the very bloody ground. Connor was pulled to his feet and joined by Becker and Danny. Together, along with the other soldiers, they began to fan out in search of Abby.

They searched for over an hour, but still nothing.

"Where is she?" Connor growled. "Where could they have taken her?" He was starting to feel the familiar heart palpitation that preceded a full-blown panic attack. He took several deep breaths in an effort to regain some semblance of control. He couldn't loose it now; he had to find her, no matter what.

Suddenly, gunfire erupted in the distance off to their left. Connor looked to Becker who was listening intently to his earpiece.

"Come on, they found another pocket of Cleaners holed up in a building off to the south. That's probably where they've taken her."

They raced over in the direction of the gunfire. There was another battle in full swing. Thankfully, the situation was much as it had been earlier and sheer numbers and gun power quickly overcame the clones.

Connor refused to wait outside. He was one step behind Becker, with Danny and Tom at his side as they searched the building systematically.

"HERE!" The call came from the room across the hall. Becker and Connor were there in seconds with Connor actually through the door first.

"Abby, sweetheart. Abby…" she didn't answer. She had been strapped to a chair, gagged, and there were wires attached to her temples and across her forehead. Connor tugged futilely at the tight straps. "Damn it… Abby, Abby can you hear me?"

Becker moved Connor aside. "Get her unhooked." He pulled out his huge combat knife and sliced through the straps that were holding her.

She slumped forward and Connor caught her. He reached around behind her head and undid the gag. He began pulling the wires off her head and patting her cheek. "Abby, Abby, wake up darling. Wake up, sweetheart. Come on Abby; open your eyes, baby. Answer me, Abby. Abby? She's not waking up! Danny, she's not waking up. What have they done to her?"

"Connor, lay her down, mate. Let Tom do his job," Becker ordered.

Connor laid her down while keeping her hand in his. The medic began checking her over as quickly, but as thoroughly, as possible. "She's got a pulse, her breathing's normal. She seems fine on the exterior, but we need to get her to a hospital right away. She might have been drugged." He called for a stretcher from his radio.

"No, just go, I've got her." Connor lifted Abby up in his arms. "Just lead the way Tom." Tom turned and took a stout, but careful pace back through the anomaly with Connor carrying Abby, and Becker and Danny on either side of them. Connor gently laid Abby on the waiting stretcher. It was then lifted and placed in the back of an ambulance and as soon as Connor had climbed in after her, it pulled away and headed for the nearest hospital.

**A/N: So, did you like this chapter? I know I'm rather evil. If you don't think so, then you will after my upcoming deleted scene. IT's from Abby's point of view explaining what happened after she went through the anomaly. **


	4. Deleted Scene: Abby's POV 1

**A/N: I will slowly be uploading a slightly different version of this story from the one found on my Live Journal Page. I plan on adding a few deleted scenes and maybe extending some others. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU ENJOY MY STORY, or if you don't. I really appreciate feedback.**

**Disclaimer: Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Deleted Scene: Abby's First Trip Through the Anomaly**

"Come on, Abby."

Abby could tell Connor was tired from the tone he was using. She needed to wrap this up and quickly. She was exhausted as well. Suddenly an idea began to form in her mind.

Abby looked at the giant Armadillo, and then at the basket of fruit in her hands. _Well, _she thought,_ if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then I guess Muhammad will just have to go to the mountain_.

"Hang on, let me try something." _Maybe if the armadillo was focusing on her, then it would follow her through …_ so that's what she did. She made a quick split-second decision that was brought on by her and the rest of the team's exhaustion. She stepped through the anomaly. She knew she shouldn't have, but what could it hurt to just step over for a few seconds? The armadillo would follow, she'd leave the fruit there and step right back into her own time. No harm, no foul. That was her plan at least.

She knew she had just made the biggest miscalculation of her life the moment she stepped through the anomaly. She had been on the other side for less than a second when strong arms seized her around the waist, pinning her arms at her side, and causing her to drop the fruit basket. She was wrenched bodily away from the anomaly site as the armadillo came through. It started to munch on some of the fallen fruit, but was startled by the scuffle that began as Abby began to fight off her attackers. It bellowed loudly and then curled up into a ball in fright when the Cleaners started shooting at it in response to the noise it made.

Abby was initially stunned to find herself being restrained by humans on the other side of a **future** anomaly. Once she got over the shock of it all she regained her senses and got a game plan. She stopped struggling and grabbed back at the man holding her. She remembered her first foray into martial arts. _If someone grabs you grab back_. So that's what she did. She grabbed at the arm that was holding her and held on as she raised her left foot up and brought it down as hard as she could on his foot. He grunted, but didn't let go. She managed to elbow him hard in the ribs. That got him to loosen his hold, and she wriggled away and turned to look at him. _Oh, God! Cleaners_, she realized. She planted a kick right between his legs.

Unfortunately for Abby, while she had noticed that there were multiple assailants around her, she'd failed to see the clone that got her from behind. He grabbed her by her hair and spun her around into the side of an old derelict car. Her head smacked hard on the side of it and the world started to spin. He pinned her down across the hood of the car and cuffed her wrists behind her. He then slammed her head back down onto the car. Two of the clones grabbed her limp form and dragged her away moments before Connor, Becker, and Danny came running after her. The whole altercation had taken less than a minute.

Abby woke up when she felt her shins banging painfully against the sharp edge of the stairs she was being pulled up. The cleaners had her by her arms and the position made her shoulders and wrists ache and burn. She cried out and one of the men kicked her in her side. They entered a large room with all sorts of gadgets in it and an ominous looking machine with an array of computer screens. There was a chair right in front of the monitors that had multiple leather straps attached to it.

Abby grunted as she was dropped heavily into the chair. Her hands were uncuffed but, before she could do anything, they were immediately strapped to the arms of the chair. While one of the cleaners proceeded to finish securing her to the chair with the leather restraints, another cleaner grabbed her face and forced her mouth open. He roughly shoved the shiny black rubber bar between her teeth and buckled it painfully tight behind her head. She thrashed and struggled whipping her head back and forth in an effort to dislodge the gag in her mouth. The cleaner standing at her head grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her head back.

"Not so tough now are you? Little pixie."

Abby stared wide-eyed into the pugilistic face above her. He leaned in and breathed in her scent. Abby closed her eyes as tears began to fall down her cheeks. She could feel his hot breath on her and smell his choking scent. She wanted to vomit, but she instinctively knew that would be much worse in her current position. She sucked in a deep pungent scented breath and tried to steady her breathing.

"Doesn't matter anyhow. You, whoever you are, are about to disappear anyway." He licked the side of her face and down across her lips.

She mustered enough strength and defiance to yank away from him despite the agonizing pull on her hair. She was a fighter and she wasn't going to give in that easily.

He shook her head by her hair violently and laughed.

"All right, all right. That's enough. We've got orders," one the half-dozen clones stated flatly.

Abby 's head was roughly pulled back again and secured with another strap across her forehead. They started attaching wires to her head. She couldn't move to shake them off. _Oh God_, she thought, _where was Connor_?

They started typing into the computers and Abby could feel twinges of pain at each of the points where the wires connected to her head. She moaned and then there was a sharp spike in the level of pain. Her back arched and a high-pitched cry escaped her.

The last thing she saw before everything went black was a leering face of one of the clones smiling wickedly down at her and commenting, "Lights out, darling, no more pixie." There was another brutal spike of pain and pressure, and Abby slumped into oblivion.

**A/N: OK, so now you *know* I'm evil. :-) In a later chapter/deleted scene, I will write what Abby experiences when she is unconscious. Some of you might want to run away screaming when we get to that scene. Please leave a review. Thanks. **


	5. Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, Among Others

**A/N: Sorry for the looooong wait on this one. I'll try to get the next chapter up later today to make up for not updating this one in forever. As always please let me know what you thought. **

Chapter 4 – Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Among Others

PRESENT DAY:

Abby had been in the hospital for a week before Connor began making preparations to bring her home. The preparations had taken another week to set up. They really had run every test. Her blood work was normal, no detectable drugs. Her brainwaves were normal. Everything was "normal". But Abby wouldn't wake up. She had been home with Connor now for the last week. He hardly slept; he barely ate. He just didn't have the appetite.

He sat beside her bed and decided to read… out loud. He had run out of things to do to entertain himself and keep him from going crazy with worry and fear. He was going to read some of his Star Wars books, or maybe a comic book to her, but just as he sat down to start, he glanced at her bedside table and saw **her** stack of books there. He thumbed through and settled on one with a title he recognized, Pride and Prejudice. Abby had been trying to get him to watch the movie for ages, since before they got stuck in the past for all those months.

_Why the hell not?_ He began reading it aloud to her. He'd never admit it, but he was soon engrossed in the story.

When he wasn't doing his work for the ARC, he spent all his time with Abby. Mostly he read to her. At night he would curl up next to her and hold her in his arms. It was at those times, in the complete darkness of the room, that he would let himself cry. He missed her terribly.

A week later he finished the book. He felt a bit incredulous. Elizabeth and Darcy loved each other so much, but had been so stupid about it. Had Abby been trying to tell him something? Why had they wasted so much time dancing around each other? He had only had a few short months with her in there own time as his girlfriend. Only a few months of bliss as close to normal as they would ever get leading the lives they led. It wasn't fair. She had to get better. She had to wake up.

The soft knock at the door shook him from his reverie. The nurse, a kind older black woman called Mae, was here for Abby's evening session. She was one of the sweetest most genuine people Connor had ever met. She talked to Abby and treated her with dignity and respect. She was wonderful with her. He left the room so Abby could have some privacy while Verne attended to her needs.

Connor woke with a start at about three in the morning. He had the sudden creepy feeling that someone had been watching him. He looked first to Abby, but she was still out. He reached over and switched on the light.

"OH MY GOD!" he yelled.

Standing just to the right of the bedroom door was Helen Cutter.

"Helen! You're supposed to be dead."

"So I've heard"

"What ya doin' here?"

"Thought you might need some help, so I've come to offer my services."

Connor felt his anger starting to rise. "It's your fault. It's your fault she's like this to begin with. You and your bloody clone army. What did they do to her?"

"Now, now, Connor. You need to hold on to that normally sweet disposition of yours. Try to keep that temper in check. I wouldn't want you to say anything you'll regret. Especially when I'm the **only** person that can help you. I know exactly what is wrong with Abby. No doctor from this time period can help her, but I can."

"Why would you? What is it you want?"

"Can't it just be out of the goodness of my heart?"

"You killed Cutter, your own husband. You don't have a heart."

"Did I? Huh, I wonder why I did that? I must have had a good and logically sound reason. Oh well, I'll deal with that later. Do you want my help or not?"

Connor looked at her in disbelief. Then he really looked at her. She had longer hair than the last time he had seen her. She seemed a bit younger too, not quite as bitter and hard. Though she seemed well on her way.

"How old are you?" he asked. The Helen from his time should be forty-six if his memory served him.

"Forty-two. Why?

"Mm. Nothing, just thinking."

"The thought that you give to your timeline it too linear." She smiled at him as if she could read his thoughts. "Time doesn't have to move in a straight line, or at all really. You can move through it you know. It's how I can be here and be dead all at, what you perceive to be, the same time.

"I know you, Connor. You're very much like Cutter. It's how I know that you're going to accept my help, consequences be damned. You'll do anything for the girl lying next to you."

Connor turned and looked at Abby. He stroked gently down her right cheek. "Ok," he said resignedly. "I'll accept your help. What do I do?"

**A/N: So, of course Helen has a hand in all the craziness. Please review. Things get really nasty again next chapter. **


	6. The Waking

**A/N: OK, so here's the next chapter as promised. There is a lot of **

Chapter 5 – The Waking

Connor gently laid Abby in the back seat of the car. Helen climbed into the passenger seat.

"I knew you'd come around and see things my way."

"I just want to make Abby better. That's all. You pull anything, or don't come through on your promise and I'll hunt you to the end of time itself if that's what it takes. I'm probably an idiot for going along with you in the first place."

Connor drove in silence for the duration of the trip to the anomaly site in Hyde Park. It was four thirty in the morning now and the oncoming headlights made his tired eyes burn. He brought the car up as close as possible to the actual site by driving down Lovers Walk. He pulled off to the right on the edge of the parade grounds just under the trees. The anomaly had been closed for almost two weeks now.

He glanced sideways at Helen. She was rummaging through her ever-present bag and shortly she produced the anomaly-opening device. She smiled sweetly at his raised eyebrows and he felt his stomach turn.

She had spent the hour before they'd left his and Abby's flat explaining what had happened to Abby and what they would need to do to make her well again. He hated himself for what he was about to put Abby through, but Helen had promised it was the only way. She may have been a younger Helen, but she wasn't far off from being the cruel, devious, evil woman he had last seen. He hated her, yet here they were locked into cooperation that was necessary for both of them apparently. He knew she wanted something from him, but she wouldn't tell him what it was. She kept saying it wasn't time for that yet. He knew she hadn't told him everything, he just hoped she'd told him enough.

"Are you sure you've told me everything I need to know?"

"Connor, you're a bright boy. I've told you everything you need to know. Anything else happens and I'm sure you can figure it out. I'll get you through the anomaly and back safely, then I'll go off on my own way and we'll settle up in the future."

He hated having to owe Helen. However, after what she had told him was really wrong with Abby he didn't see any other way out.

"You're not backing out on me now, Connor, are you?" She reached out and carded her fingers through his hair and then rested her hand on the back of his neck. He shivered. She smiled. "You wouldn't do that to your sweet little Abby would you?"

He set his jaw to control his anger. He'd make her pay for this later. The others would help him. She'd taken so much from them already. This was the last straw. _Yeah, this Helen hadn't killed Cutter, yet, but she was heading that way_.

"Let's finish this," he said calmly. They stepped out of the mini and he lifted Abby out of the back seat into his arms.

"Come on Connor, this way. We wouldn't want you to get lost."

Connor adjusted his hold on Abby and, gritting his teeth, followed along behind Helen.

Helen opened the anomaly and they stepped through. He clutched Abby closer to his chest when they were greeted by more of her clones that had somehow survived the battle from nearly a month ago.

"Hey boys, Mummy's back." The clones nodded to her, eyes downcast, and backed off her, although they equally quickly surrounded Connor with raised weapons.

"Helen…" Connor called, his voice elevated in pitch as he started to panic.

"Easy boys, just keep an eye on him for now. He's with me, until I say otherwise." The clones backed off, but kept their weapons trained on him. Connor was distinctly uncomfortable in this new, even further, disadvantaged position.

Helen started walking off in the direction of the building where they'd found Abby.

"Come on, sweetheart," he whispered into Abby's ear as her head continued to rest on his shoulder. He adjusted his grip on her again as she continued to sleep in his arms and, with a nudge from the muzzle of a large weapon from one of the Cleaners, he marched off behind her.

In what seemed like no time at all to Connor, they had reached the building and climbed the stairs to the lab. Helen instructed her clones to move a table outfitted with restraints over to the odd machine Abby had been hooked up to when Connor had found her. As they shoved the chair she had been strapped to out of the way, Connor felt a tremor course through him. That was one of the worst days of his life. He noticed the straps were no longer severed; they had been replaced with brand new ones.

He pressed his cheek to the top of Abby's head. "I'm so sorry," he whispered as tears clouded his vision. He silently berated himself for all the times he had failed her and for what he was about to do to her now.

Helen turned back to him smiling brightly. "Put her on the table, Connor. She'll be more comfortable there than in the chair."

Connor gently laid her down on the table and caressed her cheek lovingly. One of the Cleaners moved in to fasten the restraints onto her and Connor shoved him away. "No, you're not tying her down!"

Helen stepped right into his personal space and laid a hand on his chest. "Now, Connor, let him do his job."

"No! I didn't agree to this."

"But you did agree to follow my instructions so you could make Abby better, didn't you?"

Connor stared back at her defiantly.

"If we don't restrain her she could hurt herself during the process. The straps themselves won't hurt your dear Abby."

"Fine. But, if anyone is going to do it, it's going to be me."

"Fine," Helen replied.

Connor took a deep breath. He reached down and gently brushed the hair out of her face. He kissed her forehead and told her he was sorry again, but that hopefully, he'd see her soon.

"Time is of the essence, Connor," Helen stated impatiently.

"All right, all right." Connor, tears in his eyes, restrained Abby's arms, legs, and torso. "There," he turned to Helen. "It's done, now get on with it."

"Not quite, dear." She handed Connor a leather strap with a hard black rubber rod in the center of it. The rod was about two centimetres thick and seven centimetres long. "You don't want her to bite her own tongue off do you? I'm guessing you might miss that later."

Connor ground his teeth and took the gag from her. It was bad enough having to tie the love of his life down, but having to gag her was almost more than he could bear. His hands shook and the tears that had been threatening began to flow. He slipped the rod between her teeth and buckled the strap behind her head. He suppressed the sob that caught in his throat and wiped his face with his sleeve. He nodded.

Helen smiled at him, obviously enjoying his misery. She began attaching the wires to Abby's head.

Connor grabbed her wrist and growled, "Don't hurt her!"

As soon as he touched her the clones all cocked their weapons and turned them on him. Helen looked around at them and then back at Connor, still smiling sweetly. He released his grip on her.

"You really should be more careful. They are very protective of me and I don't think you want Abby to wake up find your dead body with a hole in your head."

Helen secured one more strap across Abby's forehead.

"Like I told you before," Helen continued. "This is going to hurt. This machine stimulates the pain and terror centers of the brain. By you halting it in the middle of the process you have locked her in her own mind. You've trapped her with fear and pain. She has to move from fear to pain to acceptance. My clones had instructions to capture anyone they found and bring them here so I could add their DNA to my database for my army of clones. While these have worked so far, the initial sample degrades over time. I am almost out of the version you see before you. I will need to move on to a new model. I like to have control of the source material, so the first step would be to make them cooperative. That was the stage out of which you yanked her. Now, obviously, if I had been here, I would never have allowed them to hurt poor Abby."

Connor wasn't sure he really believed her.

"But, fate did not allow for that and my clones simply followed the orders I had left them with. They hooked her up and started the process of making her **very** cooperative."

Connor made a strangled noise in the back of his throat.

"Don't worry, she'd have to go through the rest of the programme for her to be completely obedient to me which I am obviously not going to do. She'll finish this stage and just be a little traumatized on the other side. Nothing she won't recover from. Especially since she has you to help her heal, right, Conn?"

"Don't call me that!" he spat back at her. He sat on the edge of the table next to Abby and took her small hand in both of his. Helen finished hooking Abby up.

"You're sure you want to stay and watch this? You can't intervene otherwise you might kill her this time. It'll be difficult to watch."

"I'm not going to leave her."

"Then this might be more comfortable." Helen handed him a stool and he sat next to the table, still clutching Abby's hand. He nodded to Helen.

She turned to the machine and began typing in commands. Abby's face contorted into what could only be an expression of pure terror. She started to shake.

"It's OK, Abby, I'm here. It'll all be over soon. It's OK…" Connor continued to croon softly to her.

"It'll take a little over an hour and a half. We have to start again because I don't know what you did when you unhooked her or at what stage she was at when it was interrupted."

Abby's hands clenched into fists and Connor gasped as she squeezed his hand harder than he would have thought possible. When she released he moved his hand out of hers and just held her wrist. About half an hour later she was breathing fast and shallow and had broken into a sweat. She moaned into the gag and Connor laid his forehead on her arm. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" he repeated over and over.

Abby's brow furrowed and she became more and more distressed over the next several minutes. She started thrashing against her restraints, pulling and yanking at the straps. She let out a gut-wrenching cry and arched her back as much as her bonds would allow.

Connor looked alarmed. His panicked glance shot over to Helen. "What's happening?"

Helen smiled calmly. "Excellent. She's progressing to the next level, from terror to pain."

Abby slumped back down to the table, tears rolling down her cheeks from her closed eyes. Her heart rate was massively elevated.

Connor was downright terrified. "Please do something, her heart rate's too high."

Helen checked the monitors and instrument panel that she had hooked Abby up to. She took a prefilled syringe and injected Abby with it. Abby's heart rate began to even out… fractionally. Her breathing began to normalize as well. She was still crying and clearly still in a great deal of pain.

Connor was beside himself with worry and fear. He berated himself for going along with Helen's plan. _Surely there had to have been a better way than this_? He took off his waistcoat, leaving himself with only a thin white t-shirt, and dabbed it across Abby's forehead. "Hang in there, love. Please be OK. Please."

"Relax, Connor. I told you this would be rough. If you can't handle it I'll have my clones remove you until it's done."

"I can handle it!" he growled. "Just make sure she's OK."

Helen sauntered over and leaned in close to him, once again invading his personal space. She leaned in right next to his ear and whispered, "This is **all** your fault, Connor. You should have kept a closer eye on her. Maybe if you hadn't been so impatient that morning, she wouldn't have walked through the anomaly so rashly."

He turned his head and looked at her with a horrified expression.

She smiled. "She'll be fine, no thanks to you." She straightened back up and walked back over to her bank of monitors. Connor blinked back tears. He slumped forward and laid his head on Abby's chest, his shoulders trembling slightly.

"Please be OK. Please be OK…" He took her small left hand in his bigger one. She could squeeze all she wanted. With his right hand he carded through her sweat-dampened hair. He turned his head to look at her. "I love you," he breathed quietly.

The minutes dragged on so slowly. _God it must be almost over_, he thought. _Please, dear God, let it be almost over_. Abby continued to writhe and strain, moaning and crying softly. Sometimes Connor could have sworn that she was actually saying something, but he couldn't be certain because of the gag in her mouth.

"How could you?" he asked out of the blue.

"How could I what?" Helen countered. She knew full well what he was asking.

"How could you do this? To anyone? How could you design and implement something this barbaric?"

"Oh, I didn't invent it. I merely stumbled upon it one day, the invention of another. Humans are animals, Connor. We experiment on animals all the time. I really don't see the difference."

"You're wrong. As I scientist, I know we're technically animals. But there is something different about us. Something that sets us apart; a spark or something."

Helen looked at him skeptically.

He gritted his teeth and ploughed on, "I know it's true. Whatever it is, it's what sets us apart from the creatures we're always fighting. It's why… it's why when you see pictures from the holocaust or slavery it draws out a very different emotional reaction than if you see pictures of a slaughter house."

Helen was silent for a few moments, that irritating grin still plastered on her face. "You're so naïve, Connor. No wonder you did so well under Nick's tutelage. You're exactly the kind of student he lives for."

"Lived. Lived for. You killed him. He died in my arms moments after you shot him. It's how I know I'm right. There is something different about carrying the body of a dead creature, and carrying the body of a dead friend."

Connor returned his attention to Abby, effectively ending their conversation. She was the monster, not him.

After another half hour, Abby's expression became smoother, calmer. Connor gently stroked her cheek and hair.

"Abby, sweetheart, it's over, love. Wake up. Open your eyes, baby. Open your eyes, darling. Please, love, open your eyes."

Seconds later Abby's eyes fluttered and then opened for the first time in a month. She looked confused and then fear filled her expression. She tried to talk, she strained and pulled at the straps holding her down. Helen made no move to help Connor as he undid the strap across her forehead. She called one of her clones over and they began conversing in hushed tones as they moved into the passage outside the lab. Connor felt the need to hurry.

"Hang on, love. Everything's OK. You're all right." He lifted her head and unbuckled the gag, pulling it gently from her mouth.

"What happened?" she asked in a dry hoarse voice.

"I'll explain everything, just let me get you out of here first." Abby looked around, really looked around for the first time since opening her eyes.

"Connor," she said, alarm in her ragged voice. "Connor, you have to hurry. We have to get out of here. There are Cleaners."

"I know, just stay calm. I'm almost done." He had been moving quickly in a clockwise manner around the table undoing the straps that held her. When he undid the last strap holding her right wrist he brought her hand up to his lips. Then without warning he pulled her up and into a tight embrace.

"Oh, you have no idea how worried I've been or how good it is to hear your voice." He pulled back and looked in her clear blue eyes. "Or to look into your beautiful eyes."

She smiled warmly at him. "What are you talking about? I just went through that anomaly with the giant armadillo right before Helen's clones grabbed me."

"Not exactly."

"Oh, my God," Abby cried. "He… Helen. What's going on?" Helen and her clones had filed back into the room and quickly surrounded the two of them. Connor put his arms protectively around Abby.

"Helen, you promised. You promised us safe passage."

"Yes, dear boy, I did. However, I didn't say exactly when that would be now did I?"

"Helen—" but that was as far as he got. One of the Clones standing close behind him bashed him in the back of the head with the butt of his assault rifle. Connor heard Abby scream as everything went black and he crumpled to the floor.

**A/N: Well? Did you really expect that Helen would do anything out of the goodness of her heart? Of course she has her own plans to get on with. Please hit the Review button and let me know what you think. :-D**


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